When Two Worlds Collide
by sarahlou82
Summary: Find out what happens when a new CSI joins the team on an experimental exchange! Rated T for later chapters Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**When Two Worlds Collide Chapter 1**

Title: When Two Worlds Collide, part 1  
Pairing: Greg/OC  
Rating: K+

Spoilers: none  
Disclaimer: None of this is true. And I own none of the characters. Not one of them.

* * *

The Announcement

It was the start of another evening on the graveyard shift for the CSIs of Las Vegas. Most of the shift were sat around waiting for their assignments for the evening. Greg Sanders was preening his hair in his reflection on the toaster, adding extra spikes to his already spiky hair. Catherine Willows stood in the corner of the room, pacing up and down as she tried to placate her protesting daughter over the telephone. Sara Sidle sat idly flicking through the channels on the television, repeatedly looking at her watch and growing increasingly impatient. Nick Stokes finally broke the near silence as Catherine hung up her phone with a sigh. "What's keeping 'Rick and Grissom man? Shift started 20 minutes ago."

"Do you think he's forgotten about us? It wouldn't be the first time he got too involved with stuff and forgot us." Sara stated as she thumbed the off switch on the remote control.

At that moment shift supervisor Gil Grissom blustered into the room in a flurry of apologies, closely followed by Warrick Brown, the final member of the graveyard team. Grissom dropped his armful of folders on the table as he spoke. "Sorry for the delay folks, but if Greg could stop playing with his hair and join the rest of us then I have some important news for you all."  
Greg apologised as he sheepishly took a seat in between Sara and Nick around the table. "Thank you Greg, maybe we can continue now. You may remember a few months back I told you about a possible exchange between us and our counterparts in New York. Well, it's all been organised now and we'll be getting a new addition to our team for three months."

A sudden murmur rippled around the room, interrupting Grissom as the group contemplated the prospect if a new addition to their numbers. "Hang on," said Catherine. "If it's an exchange, which one of us is going to New York?" Grissom raised an eyebrow and looked over to Warrick. "That would be me." He admitted.

Another murmur rippled around the group, louder this time. "Wow Rick, what does Tina think of all this? You're gonna be away for three months man!" exclaimed Nick. Warrick nervously looked down at the table, playing with his watch strap as he spoke. "Er, well. Me and Tina…me and Tina are kinda having a break at the moment, so I decided to do the exchange so we could have some time apart y'know, then try and work things out." Nick patted Warrick's shoulder in a conciliatory way. "Man, I'm sorry. But why didn't you tell me Rick? I thought we were tight bro?"  
"I'm sorry man, it just kind happened and I needed to kinda get my head around it first."  
"Ok," interrupted Grissom. "This is how it will work. Warrick flies up to New York in four days, and at the same time his swap partner will fly down to us. They will, in effect, be Warrick while they're here. Any questions or can we get onto what we're paid to do?"


	2. Chapter 2

**When Two Worlds Collide Chapter 2**

Title: When Two Worlds Collide, part 2  
Pairing: Greg/OC  
Rating: K+

Disclaimer: None of this is true. And I own none of the characters. Not one of them.

* * *

The Exchange

The graveyard shift were milling around the break room in eager anticipation of the arrival of their supervisor and the latest, albeit temporary, addition to their team.

Greg stood pouring coffee for his colleagues, rippling with excitement. "I wonder who's gonna replace Warrick? Do you guys reckon it'll be a chick? Do you think she'll be hot? I hope she's hot." Greg's colleagues simultaneously rolled their eyes. They all knew Greg too well, especially his love of the fairer sex. They had all been on the receiving end of Greg's ponderings about the anticipated attractive nature of Warrick's swap partner ever since they were informed of the exchange. They all secretly hoped it would be a guy replacing him, just so that it meant they would no longer have to listen to Greg! "What's keeping Grissom? Why's it taking so long? I wanna meet her." Greg whined.

"Wow G," exclaimed Nick. "We don't even know if it is a woman yet. For all we know it could be a dude. Y'know, we send a guy so they send a guy."  
Sara soon interrupted the conversation. "Guys, we can stop speculating about their gender, they're here."

Greg and Nick simultaneously turned round at the sound of the break room door opening. Gil Grissom entered the room, closely followed by a nervous looking blonde woman, with a faint smile on her face. "Everyone, this is Connie Baker from New York's CSI team. She's Warrick's swap partner." Grissom announced to his team.

Connie nervously scanned the room, observing the faces of her new colleagues, trying to judge their reactions to her. Two guys, two girls. She could read little in the face of the brunette, but the blonde had a warm, welcoming smile on her face. As for the guys, the elder guy looked friendly enough, with dimples either side of his friendly smile. But why was the younger guy gawping at her like she was some circus freak? "Oh god, I must have lipstick on my teeth or something. I knew I shouldn't have bothered with the lipstick this morning." She thought to herself as she ran her tongue over her teeth, trying to remove invisible traces of lipstick.

Her mild panic was broken by the voice of her new supervisor. Gil Grissom was nothing like any supervisor she had ever met before. For a start his office was like a bug house at the zoo! She could not imagine her supervisor back in New York, Mac Taylor, filling his office with a weird and wonderful collection of bugs! A smile flickered across her face as she remembered Mac and the test of her friends back in New York, but soon shook her head as if to banish her thoughts. She was in Vegas now, she had to think about integrating herself with her new colleagues, not stop and wonder what her old colleagues were doing. She scanned the room again and re-examined her new colleagues. At least the gawper had closed his mouth now!

Grissom took Connie around the room and introduced her to her new colleagues: Sara, Catherine, Nick and Greg. There would be no turning back for Connie now; she was part of the team. And she liked it.


	3. Chapter 3

**When Two Worlds Collide Chapter 3**

Pairing: Greg/OC  
Rating: K+

Spoilers: none  
Disclaimer: None of this is true. And I own none of the characters. Not one of them.

* * *

The Imminent Birthday

Connie Baker had been working for a month with the Las Vegas CSIs, and had quickly become an integral part of the team. She still felt the odd pang of homesickness for New York, despite it only being her adoptive home after spending most of her life in England. She still missed New York though, particularly her work friends. Danny and Don were like big brothers to Connie, always looking out for her and trying to veto her boyfriends. "And you cannot get more protective older brothers than a born and bred New Yorker and a New York Police detective!" She thought with a smile. As for Stella and Lindsay, well, as much as she hated to over-use the family metaphor, they were like sisters to her. Connie had spoken to all her colleagues from New York on several occasions, and despite missing them, her work in Las Vegas was usually sufficient enough to remove those pangs of homesickness.

As she arrived in the break room at the start of another shift, her eyes were instantly drawn to the TV, which was blasting out a pop song. The video accompanying the song contained a number of scantily clad women gyrating to the music. Connie was not even slightly surprised to find Greg Sanders staring wide-eyed at the screen. She rolled her eyes and smiled; Greg certainly liked the ladies and could be something of a flirt when he wanted to be. Connie had not been on shift for an hour on her first night before Greg had batted his long dark eyelashes at her and started laying on the compliments. Sara Sidle walked into the break room, took one look at the TV screen and Greg beneath it and said exactly what Connie had just been thinking. "Greg, haven't you got anything better to do than drool over semi-naked women?" Greg blushed as he realised both Sara and Connie had snuck into the break room without him realising, and caught him indulging in his guilty pleasure. He could not believe he'd been caught out by the women he admired the most! He had always been keen on Sara, ever since she'd joined the Vegas team from San Francisco, and then there was Connie, or his "English Rose" as he liked to call her. And now they had both caught him ogling a pop group! He stumbled over his words as she spoke. "I…erm…eh...I…I…They're hot! Back me up here Nicky!" Nick Stokes looked slightly bemused to see the scene he had encroached upon: a flustered looking Greg, and Sara and Connie both with amused looks upon their faces.

"Wow Greggo, don't get me involved in this man. You know Sara's fierce when she's crossed!" Nick looked up at the music video at the centre of the whole saga, and a smile spread across his face as he spoke. "G, aren't you getting a bit old to be ogling young chicks man?" Both Sara and Connie burst out laughing at the indescribable look on Greg's face as a result of Nick's words. It was just days until Greg turned thirty and he was feeling rather sensitive about the milestone.

"Can you please stop mentioning my birthday guys, it's just not happening this year. Besides, you guys are all older than me anyway!"  
"Who's older than you?" Asked Gil Grissom as he entered the room, Catherine Willows following in his wake. Greg's face flushed again. "I…erm…it doesn't matter boss."

"Good." Announced Grissom. "Maybe we can get started with tonight's assignments then."


	4. Chapter 4

**When Two Worlds Collide Chapter 4**

Pairing: Greg/OC  
Rating: K+

Spoilers: none  
Disclaimer: None of this is true. And I own none of the characters. Not one of them.

* * *

The Moment

It was the evening before Greg's 30th birthday and he sighed as he switched off his car engine in the lab car park. He had tried to avoid working that night; he knew most of his colleagues would try to make a big deal out of the milestone. But he was needed so he had no choice but to be at work. He sighed again as he locked his car door and wondered what his colleagues had up their sleeves. He had caught Sara and Connie whispering conspiratorially in a corner of the break room the previous night. They were clearly plotting something; Sara never got close enough to people to be whispering like that. Or maybe his 'English Rose' had managed to melt Sara's sometimes icy façade. Either way, his two favourite girls were planning something, and he had a sneaky suspicion he was at the centre of it.

He took a deep breath before walking into the break room, and breathed a sigh of relief as he took in the lack of banners, balloons or anything else birthday related. What Greg did find was Nick pouring a cup of coffee. "Hey birthday boy!" Nick teased, "Want a cup of coffee to celebrate your last few hours of being 29?"

"Do you ever get sick of teasing me huh Nick?" Greg asked. Nick smiled, placed his arm around the younger man's shoulders and patted his arm. "But G, you're so easy to tease man!" Greg hung his head. He could not believe he had let Nick get one over on him again; he was being far too sensitive about the whole birthday thing.

Greg turned as Sara and Connie entered the room chatting, they both made a bee line for the birthday boy. "Hey Greg. Did you see a cat out in the car park?" Sara asked. "It leapt out from under your car looking scared and scratched Connie's arm when she tried to comfort it."  
"Look." Said Connie, as she pushed her scratched arm in front of Greg's face. "Aw, it looks sore." Mumbled Greg as his long fingers delicately took hold of Connie's arm, pulling it closer to his face to examine the injuries in more detail. He gently ran his thumb over the largest scratch on Connie's arm and she hissed in pain. "I'm sorry Connie." Greg whispered, before looking into her pained hazel eyes. Before Greg knew what he was doing, he tenderly pulled Connie's arm to his lips and gently kissed her arm. He flushed as he realised what he had done, and instantly regretted it, half expecting Connie to pull her arm out of his grasp. He reluctantly looked up, expecting to see an angry expression spoiling Connie's delicate face, and was pleasantly surprised to see a smile on her face. Connie leant in towards Greg, her arm still in his warm hold, and whispered in his ear "Thank you sweetie." Before pulling her face back far enough to plant a gentle kiss upon his cheek. Greg's face flushed even more as he became acutely aware of the fact that the rest of the team were all staring at the scene unfolding between him and Connie. As Grissom cleared his throat and began to discuss that evening's assignments, Greg gently released Connie's arm, but could still feel the weight and texture of it on his hands, as well as the tingling on his face where Connie's lips had briefly met his bare skin. This was turning out to be a good start to his birthday.


	5. Chapter 5

**When Two Worlds Collide Chapter 5**

Pairing: Greg/OC  
Rating: K+

Spoilers: none  
Disclaimer: None of this is true. And I own none of the characters. Not one of them.

* * *

Another Moment

It was 10am on Greg's 30th birthday. The birthday boy and his colleagues looked particularly tired after spending the entire shift examining cold cases, following an unusually quiet night in Las Vegas. The weariness was palpable in the locker room as the team took it in turns to pat Greg on the back and give him their best wishes. "So G," said Nick as he sat on the bench next to Greg. "What are we gonna do to celebrate man? We've gotta do something."

"Go home to bed." The birthday boy mumbled wearily. "What, all of us together?" Joked Sara, smiling widely. Greg smiled and tried to erase the image of Sara in his bed from his mind. He shook his head and stood up as he spoke, "No, just me. I really don't want to make a fuss about today."  
"But G, you only turn 30 once man!" exclaimed Nick. "I know," replied Greg. "I'm just not in the mood for my birthday or celebrating." Sara threaded her arm through Greg's and squeezed it. "C'mon Greg, just breakfast. For me." She batted her long silky eyelashes at him and he instantly caved in. "Oh, okay, for you. If you give me a big birthday kiss first." Greg's bravado suddenly reappeared as he spoke, and he puckered up his lips for a kiss. Sara sighed dramatically, smiled, and planted a gentle kiss on his lips before pulling him into a big bear hug.

Neither of them realised the inner turmoil that had begun to rage inside Connie as she quietly observed this. Nick, however, noticing a shadow fall across Connie's eyes, gently placed on arm around her shoulder and squeezed. "You ok Con?" He whispered. Tears prickled in Connie's eyes at the three simple words, and before she knew it she had buried her face into Nick's broad chest and wrapped her arms around his slender waist. Nick returned the tender embrace, holding Connie tightly against his chest and, without knowing the cause of her upset, whispered reassuring words in her ear.

Catherine entered the room just as Sara and Greg broke their embrace. "Wow, there's a lot of love in this room!" she exclaimed, taking in Nick and Connie on the opposite side of the room, still with their arms wrapped around each other. Greg and Sara looked bemused until Catherine indicated to them the tight embrace Nick and Connie were still in, Connie's sniffles now audible. Greg's face fell as he realised Connie was upset, and rushed to her side. He began to gently stroke Connie's back as he repeatedly asked her if she was ok. Connie broke her embrace with Nick, wiped her eyes on her sleeve of her jacket and sniffed as she told Greg, "I'm just being silly, it's nothing, honest." Greg's frown disappeared as he saw the beginnings of a smile curve in the corners on Connie's mouth. He linked her arm through his as she spoke, "Ok, birthday breakfast it is then, let's go."


	6. Chapter 6

**When Two Worlds Collide Chapter 6**

Pairing: Greg/OC  
Rating: K+

Spoilers: none  
Disclaimer: None of this is true. And I own none of the characters. Not one of them.

* * *

The Surprise

The CSIs pulled into the car park of their favourite café. Greg smiled to himself; everyone had pretty much respected his wishes for a quiet birthday and each of his colleagues were now getting out of their cars bearing gift bags. His smile widened at the prospect of presents. He may have been turning 30, but he was still a big kid when it came to presents. The CSIs entered the café, and Greg turned left to head for his favourite window seat. Suddenly he found himself being pulled in the opposite direction. "No no!" chorused Connie and Sara. "This way Greg, we have a surprise for you." Grinned Connie. "A surprise? You didn't…"

"You'll see!" laughed Connie as she clamped her hands over Greg's eyes.

When Connie finally removed her hands from over his eyes, Greg was greeted by a small room decorated with birthday balloons, a huge banner emblazoned with "Happy 30th Greg!", and in the centre of the table, a huge birthday cake. Greg scanned the room to examine the smiling faces of his colleagues. Who looked the guiltiest? Who had gone to all this trouble? Sara and Connie stood slightly apart from the rest of the group, and both had difficulty meeting Greg's eye as he looked at them. "You two?" He challenged. Sara and Connie looked at each other and smiled as they nodded their heads in agreement. Any anger Greg felt at having his wishes disobeyed melted the instant it sunk in that his two favourite girls had organised it all. He hugged them both before planting a big sloppy kiss on their foreheads as he thanked them. Catherine interrupted the 'thank you's by ruffling Greg's hair an expressing a desperate need for food. So Greg pulled himself away from Connie and Sara, and the whole group sat down to tuck into the birthday feast.

"Y'know," mumbled Greg between forkfuls of food "This is probably the best birthday I've had, even if I am turning thirty. Now, where are all my presents?" He grinned as he rubbed his hands together with glee. His grin widened as all his colleagues reached under the table to pull out their gifts. Greg tore open his presents with a delight rarely seen outside of young children opening Christmas presents. He savoured the attention from his colleagues, and even the usually sardonic David Hodges had a kind word to say to him. He particularly enjoyed the attention he receives from Connie and Sara. "Man, I should turn 30 more often!" he thought as he sat sandwiched between his two favourite women, and arm around each of them.

One by one the CSIs started to leave for home, until it was just Greg, Sara and Connie left. "So ladies, fancy coming back to mine?" Greg grinned. Connie and Sara both rolled their eyes; Greg never gives up trying to hit on them at every available opportunity. "C'mon Greg, time to go home." Connie mumbled as she started to drag Greg in the direction of the car park. "Home with me?" he asked hopefully. "Well, do I at least get a birthday kiss?" Sara and Connie smiled as they rolled their eyes again, but they both knew they'd give in, and both gave him a much appreciated birthday kiss.


	7. Chapter 7

**When Two Worlds Collide Chapter 7**

Author: Sarah aka sassysfic  
Pairing: Greg/OC  
Rating: T - some adult references

Spoilers: none  
Disclaimer: None of this is true. And I own none of the characters. Not one of them.

* * *

The Birthday Treat

Greg awoke feeling unusually refreshed, he had not slept so well in a long time. He smiled as the memory of earlier events returned to him. He was 30 now and had celebrated his birthday without any embarrassment or too much teasing. He smiled even more as he turned over in bed to be faced with the naked back of his companion. He lightly ran his thumb over the three tattoos on her shoulder, and remembered his surprise at finding them. He had always thought of her as someone who would not have a tattoo. He counted them again in his head as he lightly brushed over them. One, two, three. Three stars. He knew they had to have some significance, he had seen the sadness in her eyes, despite her smile, when he had first kissed her bare shoulder.

* * *

A lot of things had surprised him earlier that day. It was definitely a surprised to see her on his doorstep, and he had tried to counter his surprise with an inappropriate comment. She had smiled at it though, and they and ended up chatting on the sofa for over an hour.

She moved slightly in her sleep and Greg delicately brushed her hair away from her face as she continued to sleep. Greg could not believe how amazingly beautiful she looked while she slept. Looking at her sleeping face took him back to when their earlier conversation had turned serious.

They had both sat in silence on the sofa, enjoying each other's company. "It's all false bravado isn't it Greg?" she said suddenly, looking deep into his eyes. Greg looked confused, "What's false bravado?"

"All the flirting, the comments." She replied. "It's not the real Greg is it? You're actually kinda shy around women aren't you?" Their eye contact suddenly became too intense for Greg to maintain, and he had to break it. His face flushed slightly as he words sunk in. He met her eyes again before he softly spoke, "How is it you can see right through me? See through to my soul?" She gently held his face in her hand, brushing a strand of hair away from his forehead. "I don't know Greg," she replied, "I just do." And that's when it had happened, the kiss. Not just a peck like before, a full-on kiss. He placed one hand in her hair, holding her head to his as they kissed slowly and delicately. Greg's stomach was already turning somersaults as the kiss intensified and turned more passionate. The electricity between them was intense. So intense the kiss ended as suddenly as it had begun, the pair pulling away from each other slightly breathless, after what seemed like hours. Without saying a word to each other, they retreated to Greg's bedroom.

* * *

As Greg daydreamed, Connie stirred underneath his fingers and turned to face him. "Hey you." She whispered, still partly asleep. "Hey beautiful." He returned, delicately kissing her forehead. "No regrets?" He asked as he stroked her hair. "None at all." She smiled, caressing his back as she cuddled up close to him. "What time is it?" She yawned. Greg glanced at the alarm clock behind her, "Nearly time to get up, we still have to go to work."

"Urg, work! Can't we just stay here all day?" She grinned as she ran her hand down his back and squeezed his bare buttocks. "Mmm," he murmured in response to her touch. "That would be so good, but Grissom would fire our asses!" "I know." She sighed. "It's just a nice thought."

With impeccable timing the telephone ran, and Greg begrudgingly disengaged from her embrace to answer it. She stretched out over the vacated space and smiled. She could not believe the events of that day. That morning she had been secretly crazy about Greg, and now here she was sharing his bed! She smiled as he climbed back into bed next to her and kissed his bare chest. "Who was it on the phone?" Greg sighed before answering. "Grissom. He needs us in work; there's been a quadruple murder downtown, so it's all hands on deck. And don't worry, I didn't tell him you were here Connie."


	8. Chapter 8

**When Two Worlds Collide Chapter 8**

Pairing: Greg/OC  
Rating: T some adult references

Spoilers: none  
Disclaimer: None of this is true. And I own none of the characters. Not one of them.

* * *

The aftermath

Connie and Greg parked side by side as they arrived at the crime scene. Grissom did not look happy to see them. In fact, he looked extremely annoyed. "Where have you two been?" He scalded. "I called you both over an hour ago; you should have been here sooner." Greg and Connie both looked extremely guilty, but luckily Gil Grissom was too anxious to notice. "Sorry boss," Greg replied, "We both got caught up in traffic on the strip, must've been an accident or something."

"Well, you're here now. Greg I need you to go and help Nick, Connie, you help Sara."

The truth was that neither of them had got caught up in traffic on the strip. The truth was they had gotten caught up in each other. Their intentions had been good after Grissom's phone calls, and both had begun to get dressed. However, just one peck on the lips had undone all their good intentions, and it was not long before all the clothes they had so recently put on became heaped on the floor as they stripped each other naked. Connie stroked Greg's bare chest and kissed him lightly on the lips before she spoke. "You're naughty Greg."

"Me?!" He replied. "How am I naughty?" Greg grinned and kissed her forehead, he already knew what she was going to say. "It's your fault we ended up back in bed, naughty!" She lightly slapped his chest and smiled. The pair began to kiss again, their hands moving lightly over bare skin, before Connie pulled away. "We have to go Greg. We're going to be in serious trouble. What do we tell Grissom?" Greg smiled and brushed Connie's hair away from her face before he replied; "We'll just tell him we got caught in traffic."

* * *

The break room was a buzz of activity when the CSIs finally returned from the crime scene. They were all keen to have a quick break before they began to process the immense amount of evidence they had collected. Greg had assumed his usual position in front of the music channels on the television, a cup of coffee in one hand. Nick took one glance at the all too familiar scene unfolding on the TV: the Pussycat Dolls gyrating away wearing very little. He looked to Greg, expecting him to be his usually drooling self, but was shocked to see that Greg was not paying the slightest bit of attention to the television. "Yo, Greggo. I thought this was your favourite video man!" Nick exclaimed. Greg briefly glanced at the screen, turned to face Nick and shrugged. "I'm not that bothered really." Nick walked over to the younger man and put his hand to Greg's forehead. "Hmm, a bit warm. You must be sickening for something."

"Who's sickening for what Nick?" Connie asked, throwing one arm over Nick's shoulder and leaning over the back of the chair to see who he was talking to. "Hey Greggo." Connie said as she ruffled his hair. Greg flushed slightly at her touch, and gave Connie a brief and secret smile. "Nick thinks I'm ill because I'm not drooling over the Pussycat Dolls." Connie raised an eyebrow at this. "But Greg, you always drool over them when they're on TV!" She teased. "Well, not anymore. I don't need them anymore, I have something much better." He replied, a flush of colour spreading over his face again. Greg's words suddenly took effect on Nick, "Wow, wow, wait! You telling me you hooked up with someone Greggo? Spill man!" Greg shook his head as she spoke, "No way, I'm keeping this one well and truly under my hat." Nick barely had the time to look disappointed, before David Hodges called him away. As Nick walked out of the room, he pointed at Greg. "I'm gonna find out who she is, just you wait!"

After checking they were the only ones left in the suddenly quiet break room, Connie stood behind Greg's chair, placed her head next to his, and ran her hands down his torso, settling them just above his waist. She whispered in his ear, "So I'm better than the Pussycat Dolls then Greg?"

"A million times better." he whispered back, gently nuzzling her ear lobe with his lips. "Better than all six put together." He added, before gently pulling her face round so their lips met. Their kiss was brief but tender, and was ended all too quickly by the simultaneous buzzing of their pagers. "Back to work it is then." Sighed Connie.


	9. Chapter 9

**When Two Worlds Collide Chapter 9**

Pairing: Greg/OC  
Rating: T some adult references

Spoilers: none  
Disclaimer: None of this is true. And I own none of the characters. Not one of them.

* * *

Caught Out?

It had been a month since Greg's 30th birthday, and two months since the start of Connie's time in Las Vegas. Greg and Connie had been virtually inseparable from one another since Greg's birthday, and spent all their time outside of work together. Amazingly, they had managed to keep their relationship a secret from their colleagues. But, despite their best efforts to maintain secrecy, they had nearly been caught twice.

The first time, Connie and Greg were walking hand in hand through a supermarket, picking up food for a special meal, giggling to themselves as they shared a private joke. They rounded the end of an aisle and bumped, quite literally, into Nick. "Hey guys, what are you doing here?" Nick asked. "Just a bit of food shopping," replied Connie. "I...erm...I lost a bet with Greg, so now I have to cook him dinner." Greg breathed an inward sigh of relief when Nick accepted Connie's answer. Both Connie and Greg had agreed they were not ready to share their relationship with anyone yet. They enjoyed the knowledge that it was purely the two of them in the relationship, without any outside interference, which they were bound to get from their colleagues. They chatted aimlessly to Nick for a few minutes before parting. "Phew, that was a close one!" sighed Greg. "I know!" Replied Connie, "I really thought he'd sussed us out then!"

* * *

Connie and Greg's second close call was even closer than bumping into Nick. Greg and Connie had been working on separate cases, and both had ended up pulling double shifts, so consequently had seen very little of each other. Thus, finding themselves completely alone in the locker room, they soon had their lips locked, and their arms wrapped around each other in a passionate embrace. Greg partially released his hold on Connie, just enough so that he could look into her eyes. He lightly ran his fingers through her hair as he spoke, "I've missed you baby."

The squeak of the locker room door opening made them jump slightly away from each other, as Catherine walked into the room. "You guys off home now?" Catherine asked, completely disregarding the fact that Connie still had one arm around Greg's waist, as she rummaged through her locker. "Yeah, we are, just needed a few bits from my locker and I'm off home for some sleep." Replied Connie. "Sleep huh? That'd be nice. Unfortunately I'm being dragged to the mall by Lindsay. She needs new clothes for school apparently, and she needs me to pay. And that'll be her now" She added as the phone began to ring. "See you both later." She whispered as she walked out of the room, telephone to her ear. Greg exhaled sharply as the door closed. "We really have to be more careful Connie." He stated, putting his arms around her waist and pulling her up close to him. "Careful, later yeah." She answered, before kissing him softly.

* * *

It had been another hectic graveyard shift for Connie, but despite being kept busy collecting and processing evidence, she still found time to miss Greg. That night was particularly difficult for her, as she knew Greg would be lying alone in bed while she was working. He was due in court the next day, so had been given the night off so he was fresh for the case. As she waited for AFIS to find a match for a fingerprint she had lifted, her mind began to stray a little bit. She wondered if Greg was missing her too, she wondered if he had dreamt about her. And then she began to wonder what they might have been doing had she been in bed with him. She decided this fantasy was one step too far while she was working, so shook her head to clear the thoughts.

She glanced at her watch. He was due in court in just under two hours, and he had promised to stop by to see her before he attended. She smiled as she pictured him in the new shirt and tie she had bought him especially for the occasion. And then imagine stripping him out of it. What was wrong with her today?! She was thinking like a horny teenager, and she thought that stage was long behind her. No, she had to concentrate on her work, and then Greg would be there before she knew it.

Connie somehow passed the time before Greg's arrival, without anymore lewd thoughts, or making any mistakes on her fingerprint analysis. However, the time began to get closer and closer to the time Greg was due in court and he still had not turned up. She decided to call him from the locker room to check he was ready, and simultaneously opened the locker room door and removed her telephone from her belt. Before the door had even shut behind her, she found herself driven backwards into the closing door, a pair of hands lightly gripping her waist. She looked up to find Greg grinning at her. "Hey beautiful." He whispered before nuzzling her ear and neck with his lips. "I've missed you." He added, before running his hands over her buttocks, and pulling her towards him. Connie murmured at his touch, in the short time they had been apart she had forgotten how good it felt when he touched her.

As his hands slid down from her waist to the hem of her skirt, and then up underneath her skirt, gently pulling the bottom of her hem up, she finally spoke. "Baby, we can't do that here, someone will find us." He removed his mouth from where he had been tenderly kissing her chest before he replied with a sigh. "I know, I just had to see you, to kiss you." Greg suddenly grinned impishly, "Besides, there's no-one in here! So how about another kiss for your yummy boyfriend?"

Greg was mistaken in assuming the bathroom was empty. In his haste to get his hands on Connie he had overlooked one cubicle, which may herald the end of the period of secrecy surrounding Connie and Greg's relationship.

She sat in the cubicle staring at the flimsy piece of plastic in her hand. How could such an insubstantial piece of plastic determine her future from this point onwards? Her career would have to be put on hold, and her entire life would change, all in the course of 3 minutes. She leant her head back against the rear of the cubicle, looked to the ceiling and closed her eyes. Would it all be worth it? She had finally got what she had wanted after so many years, and now things could be completely ruined. Everything came back to this piece of plastic. She opened her eyes and looked at her watch. Three minutes are up. She sighed and looked at the pregnancy test in her hand. Negative. She breathed a huge sigh of relief and began to weep silently. Sara Sidle was not about to become a mother, but she had discovered what had been making Greg act so out of character lately, he was in love with Connie.


	10. Chapter 10

**When Two Worlds Collide Chapter 10**

Pairing: Greg/OC  
Rating: K+

Spoilers: none  
Disclaimer: None of this is true. And I own none of the characters. Not one of them.

* * *

The Truth

Sara Sidle kept the knowledge of Greg and Connie's relationship to herself while she pondered what to do with the valuable nugget of information she had overheard. She didn't think Grissom would be overly happy to hear of the budding relationship between one of his CSIs and a visiting one. But then that was a double standard after what had happened between the two of them. She knew Nick suspected something, the two of them had been working on a case together and he seemed to be asking a lot of questions about Greg and his 'mysterious' new girlfriend. She briefly considered telling Nick what she had overheard, but knew that the Texan would find it incredibly difficult not to tease Greg about it, so quickly decided against it.

Two weeks had passed since that eventful day in the locker room, which meant that Connie would only be in Vegas for another two weeks. Sara wondered whether she should mention anything to Greg and Connie at all, maybe they would prefer to keep their relationship completely secret from the rest of the team. After all, they had done a pretty good job of it up until she overheard them. She sat in the break room watching the two of them joking around as they made coffee. She sighed inwardly as she thought about what a good couple they made. Nick broke her thought pattern as he came bounding into the room and threw an arm around Greg, almost catching the younger man in a headlock. "Who is she then G? C'mon, you know you wanna tell me!" Greg, Connie and Sara all sighed loudly. Nick had been on Greg's case for weeks now, desperately trying to discover the identity of Greg's mystery girlfriend. Greg had tried a number of different approaches to deter Nick. He told him that they had split up, that she had dumped him and ran off with an Elvis impersonator. He tried telling Nick that she was famous and did not want anyone to know about their relationship. He even tried telling him that she had died! None of this deterred Nick however, he knew that Greg was in love, and he was determined to find out who with!

Connie sighed again, wrapped an arm around Greg's waist and planted a large kiss on his cheek. "It's me; I'm his mystery girlfriend Nick." Sara's face dropped, had Connie really just confessed? Unfortunately for Greg, Nick was not taken in by Connie's apparent ruse. "Ah Connie." Nick smiled, finally releasing Greg from the near headlock. "That's real sweet of you to say that, but I know it's not you sweetie." Sara sat staring at the scene unfolding in front of her. She was amazed at Nick, he was usually so perceptive, yet he didn't believe Connie's confession when it was so blatantly true! Before Greg or Connie could even attempt to convince Nick that Connie was actually telling the truth, Nick's pager beeped and he turned to leave. "I'll catch you later Greggo." He smiled as he left.

Completely oblivious to Sara's continued presence in the break room, Connie wrapped both arms around Greg's waist and he pulled her close to him for a tender embrace. "I can't believe Nick didn't believe us!" Connie stated. "I know! I really thought he'd have worked it out by now." Greg replied. He lightly kissed Connie's lips, much to Sara's horror. She cleared her throat to alert the lovers to her presence. They pulled away from each other and simultaneously swore. Sara walked over to the couple and simply said "I already knew." A string of questions flew from the lovers' lips. Sara waited for a pause in their questioning and took a deep breath before she spoke. "I heard you, that day you erm, hooked up in the locker room." A look of utter horror crossed both Connie and Greg's faces. "You heard?" Connie exclaimed. "I was in the bathroom." Sara replied. "Look, you guys obviously want to keep your relationship to yourselves, so I won't tell anybody about the two of you." Greg and Connie looked extremely relieved at this, and Connie hugged Sara tightly as she spoke "Thank you Sara, you don't know how much that means to us."


	11. Chapter 11

**When Two Worlds Collide Chapter 11**

Pairing: Greg/OC  
Rating : K+

Spoilers: none  
Disclaimer: None of this is true. And I own none of the characters. Not one of them.

* * *

The Departure

Sara kept her word and did not tell a soul about Connie and Greg's relationship, which they were extremely grateful for. The lovers already had a shadow hanging over them with the knowledge of Connie's increasingly imminent departure. Thanks to some minor interference on the part of Sara, the couple were placed together on a number of cases in the run-up to Connie's return to New York. Sara delighted in her role in keeping Greg and Connie together, as well as knowing she had Grissom wrapped around her little finger.

Connie and Greg's time together was bittersweet: they revelled in each other's company, but it was also marred by an uneasiness that crossed them both whenever New York was mentioned. They had made an unspoken pact not to mention Connie leaving. Just thinking about it had been enough to reduce Connie to silent tears as she prepared coffee in the break room one day. She was looking forward to seeing her New York colleagues again: the hectic schedules of two CSI teams coupled with a budding relationship had made it hard to maintain regular contact with them. She felt torn, she missed her old friends, but she had become close to the CSIs in Las Vegas too.

And then there was Greg. Greg made her think of all the cheesy love clichés she never thought would ever seriously cross her mind. She loved him, he was her soul mate, she couldn't live without him. Yet she could not bring herself to discuss with Greg where their relationship would stand once she was back in New York. Connie knew they needed to talk about it, but had avoided it so far as she knew it would upset him. She recalled his tears from the previous day when she had simply told him what time her flight left, and sighed. It was going to be a tough couple of days for them both.

* * *

It was the day before Connie was due to return to New York, and she still had not had 'the' conversation with Greg. He had cried every day that week so far, as reality finally began to hit when Connie began to pack up her things. It already hurt her to know she was the cause of Greg's tears, and could not bring herself to upset him even more. She already felt like she was being ripped apart. The exchange was not meant to be life changing; it was purely intended to provide insight into the workings of another CSI team. She wasn't meant to fall in love, she wasn't meant to question whether she belonged in New York with her colleagues, or whether she should stay in Las Vegas with Greg. Staying in Vegas had crossed her mind on a number of occasions, and she had been dropping hints to that effect with Gil Grissom, but she doubted anything would come of it. She just had to return to New York and then pick up the pieces.

* * *

Connie, Greg, Sara and Nick were sat in the airport departure lounge waiting for Connie's flight to be called. Connie sat gripping Greg's hand tightly, savouring the final moments of contact. Greg and Connie had said their goodbyes before leaving for the airport, and despite the haze of salty tears, neither of them mentioned what would happen to their relationship from this point onwards.

The four friends sat chatting aimlessly, but the nearer it got to Connie's departure, the quieter Greg and Connie became. Their hearts skipped a beat as the first call for Connie's flight was announced. Connie turned to Greg to take in every detail of his face, and upon seeing the tears clouding his eyes, climbed into his lap and cradled his head against her throat as his tears began to fall. She pressed her lips to his forehead as he quietly began to sob, and soon Connie's silent tears were falling onto Greg's head. They sat embracing each other tightly as their sobs began to rack their bodies. The second call for Connie's flight was announced as Connie and Greg sat in the middle of the departure lounge oblivious to anything but each other. Nick tenderly stroked Connie's shoulder, breaking the spell that seemed to be over the lovers. "Connie, your flight's been called again; I think you'd better go." He softly said. Connie stood up and wiped the tears away from her eyes with a gulp. "You're right, I'd better go." She replied, her voice hoarse from crying.

The four of them walked to the departure gate, and Connie hugged Sara and Nick in turn, with promises of phone calls and visits punctuating the tears. Then she turned to Greg. The tears continued to roll down both of their faces and neither could speak, their voices breaking with emotion each time they tried. Instead they shared a long lingering kiss, a tight embrace and a simple "Bye." With great difficulty, she turned away and walked the few steps to the gate. As she handed her ticket to the steward, Greg sagged against Nick, his sobs barely audible now, as Sara wrapped a comforting arm around him. Connie was about to step through the gate when a voice called her name across the departure lounge.

The four CSIs turned to see Gil Grissom rushing across the lounge brandishing a piece of paper. "Connie, don't go." He declared. The four CSIs looked at Grissom with looks of utter confusion on their faces. Connie walked towards him as she spoke. "Gil, what's going on?" Grissom smiled as she stood face to face with her. "I said don't go. I just spoke to the sheriff, he's agreed to fund another CSI for the graveyard shift, and I want you!" It took a few seconds for the words to sink in, but soon Connie squealed with delight, threw her arms around Gil's next and screamed "I'll take it! I want to stay." Sara, Nick and Greg soon jumped in, forming a huge 'group hug'. Once the initial excitement was over, Connie and Greg soon found themselves in a 'regular' embrace. In a familiar gesture, Greg brushed a strand of hair away from her face before whispering in her ear. "I love you. Marry me." Connie squealed again before accepting his proposal. She turned to Grissom before she spoke again. "I'll accept the job on one condition: you don't mind me marrying Greg." Gil Grissom looked from Connie, to Greg, and then back to Connie. "Okay then." He replied. "Let's get back to work."

THE END!


End file.
